Wayne Blair unearths a true gem: The Sapphires
Filmmaker Wayne Blair has lots to crow about since his flick about four Aboriginal singers The Sapphires received a standing ovation at Cannes, writes MARC BARNBAUM. Back in May last year, as he waited to see The Sapphires in its official selection screening at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, director Wayne Blair joked that he hoped to be ‘the rooster’ just for one night. “It’s a privilege … it’s a really good place to be … but as my old man says ‘one minute the rooster, the next minute the feather duster’,” he told an interviewer from ABC Arts.
Since then, the Rockhampton-reared talent has had plenty to cock-a-doodle-do about. A 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes was followed by enthusiastic reactions at other major film festivals including San Diego, Toronto, Aspen, London, Savannah, Twin Cities, Hawaii, Telluride, Austin, Mumbai, Napa Valley, Milwaukee, Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia. |  |
By early September The Sapphires had become only the fifth Australian movie in the previous five years to gross more than $10 million at the local box office. It was nearing $15 million by October and will become a major money spinner with international screenings and DVD and soundtrack sales, especially since it is promoted worldwide by Hollywood tycoon Harvey Weinstein.
Starring Irish actor Chris O’Dowd of Bridesmaids fame, as well as Aussie stars Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy, The Sapphires is set in the late 1960s. Based on a true story and adapted from a stage play by Tony Briggs, the comedy-drama-musical follows the exploits of four Aboriginal singers, all the way from a local talent contest to war-torn Vietnam and back.
At the same time The Sapphires was shining brightly at the box office across Australia, there was also plenty of radiated warmth when Wayne presented a premiere screening in his home town of Rockhampton. The CQUniversity business graduate was applauded by a packed audience of family members, friends and well-wishers as he was introduced by Aussie actor Rhys Muldoon, who appears in the film.
Wayne noted that there were fewer photographers present than when the movie opened at the Cannes Film Festival, but he had enjoyed the experience all the same. “It's the best feeling to bring it (the film) home where people are so proud of you. This film is a beautiful one for all of us, especially for the four young black women (Mailman, Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell) who get to be seen as heroes in posters all around the country.”
As part of the homecoming event, Wayne gave a special thanks to his dad for teaching him about discipline and to his mum for having such a great amount of heart.
Beyond The Sapphires, Wayne has plenty on his plate, including a directorial credit for ABC TV’s Redfern Now mini-series, which screened towards the end of 2012. He is writing an episode for the second series that will be filmed later this year. Redfern Now tells stories of six inner-city households whose lives are changed by a seemingly insignificant incident.
Wayne has signed to be one of the directors on the new ABC TV drama series Gods of Wheat Street, currently shooting in northern NSW. He is also one of Variety magazine’s 10 directors to watch in 2013.
You can read a candid interview with Wayne Blair in the latest edition of CQUniversity’s Be magazine online. www.be.cqu.edu.au Be magazine is giving readers the chance to win one of three DVDs of The Sapphires. To find out how you could win this great prize, simply read Be online.
In Wayne’s Words
Q. Did anything you experienced growing up in regional Queensland prepare you for the gl
obal stage you are now striding on?
A. I think the straightforward attitude of people in Rockhampton and their no-bullshit radar helps in a big way. Many people from the performing arts industry in this country are from the city; therefore that country upbringing – now I think about it – has put me in good stead from the outset.
Q. Of all the feedback you’ve had around the world, is there one particular comment that has stuck with you?
A. Many comments have stuck with me. Many North Americans see the correlation between their own Native American history and the way Aboriginal people in this country have been treated. That’s one comment that sticks out!
Q. Has this latest success started to open doors for other projects?
A. A little, yes, but I am waiting until I sign the dotted line again before I say anything official. What it has done though is it has given me more confidence as an artist and as a human being.
Q. How do you balance the need to tell a good story with the need to portray historical reality?
A. It was all there in the writing from both the writers, Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson. I just followed their lead. But it was something I did not think about much. I had no time to think some days whilst we were shooting. Only in the edit suite with Dany Cooper did I realise that balance was working its way out. Sometimes I think we fluked it. Ha!
Q. Any fond memories of your days at CQUniversity?
A. I didn’t have my licence for the first six months of my first year, so I used to get picked up by a mate Adrian every day. There were three or four of us in his Toyota Corolla every day. Those car trips were eventful in more ways than one.
Q. Early in your career did your business degree status help open any doors?
A. Big time! It laid the platform and gave me a little bit more life experience than just going into the drama world at the age of 17 or 18 which a number of people in my industry do. It also unknowingly gave me a sense of how I might position myself in the world; something I took for granted at the time.
Q. Have you done the Six Degrees of Separation to Kevin Bacon game lately to see how closely you are linked?
A. Not really. But I’m sure with a number of the people I have met thus far I am sure there would be a link.
Q. Any message to budding young film-makers who might be seeking a similar path as yours?
A. Follow your dreams, trust yourself, back your instincts and don’t die wondering.
WIN ONE OF THREE COPIES OF THE SAPPHIRES DVD
Simply send your name, address and phone number to us here at Be magazine via be@cqu.edu.au .
Competition closes COB 1 February, 2013.
